T H E R E P U B L I C OF PA L AU
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PALAU Melissa Gibson meets the man who killed her family when she was a 10-year-old missionary girl.
O L. Ann Hamel is a part of the International Service Employee (missionary) Support Team of the General Conference. She has a PhD in psychology and a doctor of ministry degree in formational counseling. Having served as a missionary and experienced personal traumatic loss, she has gained a greater sensitivity and understanding of how to support missionaries in crisis. She and her husband, Loren, live in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
n December 23, 2003, I received a call from the General Conference informing me that a missionary family had been murdered on the island of Palau. Only a 10-year-old girl had survived. I was asked to go and provide care for her and support for the local church community. I flew from Michigan, United States, on Christmas morning, praying throughout the long journey that Melissa would experience the healing presence of Jesus. Although I was trained to treat the impact of trauma, I had never before encountered trauma of this magnitude, particularly in one so young. My prayer was that God would protect Melissa from the impact of all that she had experienced. When I landed in Palau, I was taken to meet Melissa at the Koror Seventh-day Adventist Church, the church that her father had pastored. She was a beautiful child— petite with dark brown hair and fine facial features. Although she was quiet, her demeanor didn’t reflect what she had experienced in the previous few days.
New home in the Pacific
Back in June 2002, Melissa’s parents, Ruimar and Margareth 16
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DePaiva, accepted a call to serve as missionaries in the Republic of Palau, an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. The family adjusted quickly to their new life. They made friends easily and became part of the local community. Ruimar was responsible for coordinating the Adventist work on the island, and Margareth taught at the academy. They both played a very nurturing role in the lives of the student missionaries who worked at the school and often invited them to their home. Melissa remembers that her mother loved to cook and host large groups of people from the church. Their home was outside the city on the road leading to the academy. The only other house close by belonged to the principal, but it was being remodeled, so no one lived in it. Each day, numerous construction workers passed by the DePaivas’ home on their way to work on the structure. Melissa loved Christmas, and on the evening of December 21, the sights, sounds, and smells
of the holiday filled the DePaiva home. The tree had been put up early, and now there were presents under it, not just for Melissa and her older brother, Larisson, but also for the student missionaries. Margareth began preparing food well ahead of time for the many guests who would join them for the holiday. Their home smelled of freshly baked bread and pastries, and their refrigerator was full of wonderful Brazilian food. Ruimar had been away at meetings in Guam. He was an accomplished pianist and enjoyed playing, so after a meal together, his playing filled the home with beautiful Christmas music. Melissa remembers her mother playing a board game with her and Larisson before they had to go to bed. The following day would be Ruimar and Margareth’s 15th wedding anniversary. Melissa smiles as she recalls telling her parents that she would sleep with them as an anniversary present. She fondly remembers her parents tucking her into their bed and her father singing her to sleep. He then
